Til' Death Do Us Part
by Murphy8370
Summary: Dean and Sam end up in New Hampshire, a secret is unveiled but will Dean be able to get the girl who has haunted him for 2 years?
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Dean?"

"Yea?"

"Who's Althea Dominic?"

"Who?"

It was late afternoon and yet Dean was still lying on his bed, holding his head in his hands due to the hangover from the night before indulgence, when he heard the name from Sam his body tensed. How could Sam possibly know that name?

"Althea Dominic?" he said again.

"Why do you ask?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"There's a letter here."

"Letter?"

"Yea, I got from the office box Dad set up a couple of years ago. The letter is addressed to you, it looks like it's from a lawyer but the address is obviously residential."

"Give me the letter."

Dean sat up straight in bed, the headache forgotten in the mist of anticipation and fear, his mind raced with reasons for Althea to be sending him a letter, she had to have known that it would be months before he would read it.

"What's wrong?"

"Just give me the damn letter."

Sam handed Dean the letter, his look of confusion was missed by Dean as he impatiently ripped open the letter and peered at the contents, his heart seemed to have stopped in his chest.

"What is it?"

"We have to go."

"Where?"

"New Hampshire."

Dean wouldn't let him say anything more as he walked to the bathroom, taking the letter with him, he couldn't believe that she had the guts to do this to him. The hot spray from the shower poured over him, easing the headache but not blocking the memories of Althea, by most standards she was pretty plain, but to him she was beautiful, long brown hair with blonde highlights, large moss green eyes and a wide smile. He remember the smell of cookies and cake batter that clung to everything she wore, the way she never wore make up or dressed professionally for work, casual, always casual. To tell the truth, sometimes he missed her, especially when he was eating, she always made the best sandwiches and roasted chicken, he missed her when he slept alone or when he saw a brunette.

It had been two years ago when he had met Althea, after a serious injury that kept him confined to a bed for nearly a month, it was the first time his father had really left him alone. She had found him in an abandoned field a mile away from her house and brought him to a hospital then back to her house, she had taken care of him because at the time he had really needed it. Dean turned off the shower and got out, done with his introspection of the past, anger fueled his desire to go back, it blocked out the fear of rejection from her. Dean still couldn't believe that she was doing this to him, it wasn't in her nature, which means that something is going on and he would find out what it was.

_Althea: Two weeks after_

Three months and he still hadn't sent the damn papers back, Althea tried to convince herself that he was probably on one of his damn hunts and still wouldn't get it for another month or so but somehow she just couldn't shake the feeling that he was coming her, soon.

"Still not here?" Ben said as she walked in.

"No, damn it."

Althea looked at her fiancée and smiled, he was nothing like Dean, nothing like that no good, lying jerk she called a husband, or didn't call that is, Ben was safe, warm and loving and didn't carry around a shot gun like a holy cross.

"Don't worry about Thea. He'll send them. You said he's probably on that cross country trip he always wanted to go on, maybe he just hasn't gotten the mail yet."

"You're probably right." Althea knew better, she leaned into his arms, kissing his lips lightly. "I shouldn't be worrying so much about it."

"Right, babe."

"I'm goin' to check on the muffins."

Ben rolled his eyes at her and smiled. "You and you're baking."

"You like my baking!" she exclaimed.

"Not when you've already made two batches of chocolate chip cookie, a cake and a batch of muffins."

"I want our dinner tonight to be perfect."

"When are you actually gonna make the dinner?"

"After the muffins."

"Swear?"

"Swear."

Ben smiled again and took her lips in a lingering kiss. "I love you, babe."

"I love you too." She wasn't sure if she meant it just yet though.

"Go finish your muffins." He patted her butt as she walked away.

_Dean: The Fateful Night_

They had been staying in this hotel for 3 days and had yet to go see her, mostly because Dean wasn't ready to see her, especially if the rumors were right. Affianced and already forgetting about him.

"Dean, what are we doing in New Hampshire?" Sam asked for the 12th time since they arrived, his voice held a string of frustration.

"I'll tell you…."

"Later, I know, but when is 'later' gonna come up, Dean? I mean, Dude, we've been here 3 days and nothing has happened, no demons, no ghosts, no nothing. What the hell are we doing here?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Read this." Dean passed him the letters that he had put in his pocket.

Sam opened the letter and looked at it, his brows slid down into a frown.

"You're married?"

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: This is an idea I've been playing with for a little while, If I don't get any reviews I'm going to delete it so if you want to see more of it, please, please, please, send some reviews.

Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

Something was definitely wrong, something in the air, or maybe it was the silence in the house, Althea had always hated silence, but tonight she wanted nothing to distract her from her goal; to make a perfect dinner for Ben's friends and family. It seemed as though the universe was completely against her though as she sliced into the soft pad of her right thumb, blood welled up from the wound and slid into her palm.

"Damn!" she cursed and took her hand away from the food.

Carefully she turned on the faucet and placed her hand under the cool current of water, blood and water mingled at the bottom of the sink, she stared at it in reverence. Althea wished she could blame her nervousness of the fact that she was making dinner for Ben's closest people but she knew, vaguely in the back of her mind, that the fact that atleast two people in town had seen the familiar black Impala that Dean Winchester drove. More than one concerned friend had come over and wished her good luck, but whether it was due to the dinner or Dean she would never know.

Suddenly there was a loud slam as the back screen door opened and shut, Althea jumped, startled by the sound, she placed a hand on her heart and took a deep breathe, leaning over the sink. Boot steps echoed down the hall coming towards the kitchen, the vibrated the floor boards and instantly reminded Thea of Dean. Her heart jumped and began to thunder inside her chest, chills tingled down her spine and fingers of anticipation drifted inside her body.

"Honey! I'm home!" Ben boomed, laughing lowly at his own joke.

Her heart fell, she could feel the disappointment but shook it away, pasting a smile across her face that she hoped Ben wouldn't mistake as fake, she turned just as Ben walked into the room. He smiled, revealing perfectly white, straight teeth, but honestly, everything about Ben was perfect, from his smooth chocolatey brown eyes with cinnamon flecks, to his cropped brown hair and Godlike body. His voice was like velvet, deep and warm, luring it's victim with a gripping force, the way he spoke, wrapping his lips around the words, his lush lips forming each with care.

He sniffed the air and sighed.

"Smells good, what are you making?"

"Well, for dinner I'm making spaghetti with fresh pesto and home made Italian sausages, a Mediterranean salad with spinach and sweet Greek dressing, herbed potatoes and for dessert I've also made Dark chocolate Torte with a Blackberry coulis (a type of sauce)."

"Sounds delicious."

His mouth was curved into a smile as he walked over to her and wrapped one arm around her waist, he dipped his lips to hers and kissed her slowly, leisurely. When he finally pulled away Althea could think of no one else but him, to be totally honest he was a great kisser.

"Did you bring me my blackberries?" she said in a soft voice.

"Of course."

"Give 'um over." She said eagerly.

"Not until you say please."

She sighed. "Fine." She joked. "Please."

"Good girl." He kissed her forehead and gave her the carton of berries.

"Did you get them from Fitch's?"

"Yup."

"Good."

Ben rolled his eyes and smiled, stepping back so that she could wash them, she heard as he sat down on one of the many stools around the massive counter Althea had put in many years ago. This was her contribution to the house, her whole family from atleast a hundred years ago had lived here but this was where she did the most work, this was where she lived. The kitchen was her haven from work and friends and family, especially her family who were as crazy as loons, thankfully her sisters had all moved out after their parents had died. Althea felt a pang of grief when she thought about her parents, she stopped for a moment and pictured her mother's face in her mind, a warm spurt of love spread through her.

"So when are the guests going to begin coming?" she said, slowly.

"Well, it's just going to be my parents, my brother Albert and his wife Anne, and Alexia." He paused for a moment. "Oh and Rich is coming too. I think they're all arriving at about 7 or so."

"Good, just enough time."

"You don't have to be nervous you know, they're not going to bite you."

"I know, it's just, this is your parents coming, _your_ parents, and I want them to be happy with who their son picked."

"They are, don't worry."

"I have to worry!"

Ben smiled again and popped a chocolate biscotti into his mouth, he seemed completely unrepentant of this act and topped it off by picking up another.

"Put that down!" she ordered, gesturing with the spatula in her hand.

Pouting her put the cookie back down. "You never let me have fun." He said in a mockingly woeful tone.

"Oh, shhh." She said, returning to the pan she had placed the blackberries in.

Suddenly the front doorbell rang, Althea jumped and sighed, then frowned, it was too early for the guests to be arriving.

"I'll get it." Ben said, standing very suddenly.

Althea nodded and continued to stir the blackberries, trading her spatula for a wooden spoon, the smell of blackberries rolled up in steam and filled her sense, gingerly she shook some sugar onto them and stirred again. She rolled up her sleeves as the bell for the alarm for the torte went off, Althea slid some sturdy red oven mitts on and walked over to the oven, opening it slowly so that the heat wouldn't burn her, a warm blast of pie came from the oven and filled the room. She pulled the pan from the oven and placed it on the rack, allowing it to cool.

"Thea, there's a man by the name of Winchester here for you?" his voice sounded grave.

"Coming." Her heart pounding in her chest for a moment, Dean?

Could it be? Well obviously it was him or his brother and she seriously doubted that it was his brother, slowly she took a deep breathe, it came tremblingly, her heart seemed to be going a mile a minute. Althea looked around once more to see if everything was alright, she lowered the heat on the blackberries and allowed them to simmer, knowing that everything was fine she left the kitchen and walked out into the dining room and from there she went into the living room. Two men stood in the direct center of the room, their backs to Althea, talking in hushed tones with Ben in the room next door, she listened intently to their voices.

"Dude, we're only going to be here for a little while, it's no big deal!"

"No big deal?! How could you say, you not married, isn't a big deal? I think it's a big deal!"

"Stop freaking out, you're not my mother."

"No, I'm your brother. And I need an explanation, I don't want to go into this half-assed."

"Too damn bad, there isn't time. Besides Althea is….." he paused.

"Is what, Dean?" she said, tight lipped as she stared at them.

The two men whipped around and looked at her, the taller one seemed surprised as she walked into the room, she gestured that they should take a seat, shoved the wrinkles from her skirt and sat down on one of the comfortable of couches.

"I'm guessing this isn't a social call?" she said coldly.

Dean was silent. The other man nudged him.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Althea Dominic."

"Uh… yea, Sam. Sam Winchester."

"Dean's brother?" she asked politely.

"Enough with the chit chat, you know damn well who is, what is this about Thea?"

"Didn't you read the letter I sent you?"

"Yea." He said noncommittally.

"Well, then I guess you know what it means."

"I thought you took care of this, Thea."

"When would I have had the time, Dean? Besides the only way to make it final would be if you signed the papers… did you sign the papers?" she hoped she didn't sound to hopeful.

"No." he grunted.

"Do you have them with you? We should just get this over with so I can move on."

"Who's the man who answered the door?"

"Ben." She said disinterestedly.

"Ben who?"

"Ben, my fiancée." She said stiffly.

Dean fell silent. "Do you have the damn papers?"

"No, they're back at the hotel."

"Bring them over tomorrow, we'll get this settled, I'm sure you have better _things _to do." She emphasized the word things.

"Fine."

She turned to Sam and gave him a wide smile, a genuine smile. "It was nice to meet you, Sam."

"You, too."

He smiled back hesitantly.

Dean stayed grudgingly quiet.

**Dean**

He wasn't leaving. That was his decision as he walked out the house, Sam walking beside him, he wasn't leaving until he decided if this Ben man was good enough for her, he already didn't like the man looked, he was too…. _Perfect._ Of course, that was the excuse he was working with, in the back of his mind he knew that no man would be good enough for her, that only _he_ was good enough for her but that he would never acknowledge.

As they got into the car Dean prepared for a verbal battle with his younger brother, this was unavoidable.

"Dean." He said as soon as he shut the door.

"Yes?" He said, still trying to avoid it.

"What the hell is going on here?" he exploded.

"Nothing."

"She wasn't nothing, she seemed mad. Is this another Cassie? Did you tell her too?"

Dean glared at him. "Althea…. Was special."

"You told her too?! Who else did you tell? Got any other wives or girlfriends I should know about?"

"No."

"Dean…."

"No lecturing. I beat myself up enough just being there, that house…."

"What's wrong with the house?"

"It always just gave me the heeby jeebies."

"Heeby jeebies?" There a note of amusement in his voice.

"I don't know how to explain it!"

"Maybe it's not the house that was freaking you out but the girl. You still love her, don't you?"

"No…" Even to his ears it sounded pitiful.

How could he tell Sam? How he could accurately explain the way Althea made him feel? She was the one who had loved him for him, not for his body or the various other things he made up. He genuinely cared about her, even after all this time.

"Let's just get this over with." Dean said gruffly.

TBC!

Did you like it? OH AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! I didn't think it would get that many, I am so glad that you liked the first chapter.

I'll update it again, no worries. I think I like this one. LOL

WRITE ON!!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Sam could see that Dean was upset about this girl, she was unique in a way that Dean hadn't really dealt with before, she was more mature that some of the other women Dean had picked up in the past. She wasn't a dumb, skinny blonde, or an overly busty brunette but settled somewhere ahead of them, Sam didn't understand why he had never told him about her. Even he could tell that Dean still loved her, no matter how hesitantly, and Sam could see why, she was brutally honest, made with strong features and a soft body. He watched his brother intently as if expecting an explanation.

"Is there something you want?" Dean said curtly.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?"

"It wasn't important."

"It wasn't important?! You getting married isn't important?!"

"It was a long time ago."

"Not so long."

"Just let it go."

"I can't!"

Dean pulled out his bag and searched through the contents, trying to find the piece of paper that would separate them forever, his face was set, determination hardened every plane on his face and glinted in his eyes.

"Okay, lawyer boy, I want you to tell me something."

"What?"

"Is there anyway for her to divorce me without this piece of paper?"

"Legally she needs your signature to do that…."

"That's not what I asked. Is there anyway for her to divorce me without my signature or this piece of paper?"

"No, not as far as I know."

"Good."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna take responsibility for my actions."

"What does that mean?"

Dean took the paper into both of his hands and held the top, Sam's eyes widened and his mouth formed an O, slowly he tore the piece of paper in two, relishing in the sound of tearing paper and the sweet satisfaction that he had done it.

_Althea_

Twenty minutes, that's how long she had before Ben's parents showed up, twenty minutes, nervously she twisted her hands and fisted them into her dark blue skirt, she fidgeted uncontrollably.

"Relax, they're not going to eat you."

"You never know." She said, laughing nervously.

"They're going to love you."

Thea smiled and tried to ease the aching tension that had crept into her neck, everything was going to be perfect, not even Dean's visit earlier this afternoon could ruin the perfect mood she had set. Low lights and candles created a romantic glow while soft jazz in the background created a friendly atmosphere and the food she had made was some of her most perfect. She had to admit that she had gone to the extreme trying to make this perfect for his parents, but somehow she was still preoccupied with Dean.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look a little flushed."

"Yea, just anticipation I suppose."

"Everything's going to be just fine, I promise and then we'll have a little alone time." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"I dunno, I was thinking I would make a custard later tonight." She joked.

"Think again." He whispered in a low voice.

A shiver ran down her spine, what had she done right to deserve such an amazing man who made her feel this way, suddenly a picture of Dean appeared in her head and another shiver went down her spine, she shook her head and tried to smile. The doorbell rang and Thea jumped.

"That must be my parents."

_Let the interrogation begin._ She thought to herself and followed Ben towards the front door, before opening the door Ben looked at her and winked, trying to ease the mood of the situation. The door opened and there stood a homely looking couple, the woman leaning on the man's shoulder, her smile bright and warm as she stared at Thea, Thea held out her hand and smiled.

"Mrs. Payne." She said to the woman.

The woman took her and surprised Thea by enveloping her in a hug, Thea frowned but returned the hug, it seemed strange.

"I've heard so much about you, you feel like a daughter to me already."

"Oh Margot, let her go, you're scaring the girl." The man said in a deep rumbling baritone with just a tinge of a Scottish accent.

"Shut up, Peter." The woman said, laughing as she pulled away.

"Mr. Payne." Thea held her hand out again.

"Enough of this Mrs. and Mr. we're Peter and Margot to you."

"Okay." Thea said awkwardly. "Well, come in."

"Love to."

Margot and Peter entered the house and immediately took in the surrounding, it wasn't much but it was her home, the home she had grown up in, the home that she would raise her children in. Already the living room was child proof with none of her mother's china laid out on the mantle piece or the antique chest that her father had bought in Germany. It was homey with a light blue overstuffed sofa tucked into the alcove created by the curved windows, two navy suede Queen Anne chairs sat across from that and a plasma screen that Ben had brought when he moved in sat above the fireplace. Various knick knacks had collected on her mantle piece and the maple bookcases that Ben had made her for her birthday.

"You have a lovely home." Margot said.

"Thank you."

"I especially love the drapes."

The comment almost brought tears to her eyes, the drapes were her mother's contribution to the room, dark blue drapes that hung to the floor with silver embroidered into the fabric in the shapes of flowers and dragons.

"My mother made them."

"They are exquisite."

"Thank you."

Ben nudged her and smiled then mouthed to her _I told you so. _Thea relaxed and sighed.

"Well if you would like to go into the dining room, I have supper prepared and will be serving in about ten minutes." She checked her watch.

"Okay!" Margot exclaimed and followed Thea into the dining room.

Thea left the three in the dining room and went into the kitchen, once behind the door she sagged and sighed heavily, she felt incredibly guilty now, the whole time she had talking to them she had been thinking about Dean. _You're an idiot! _She thought to herself.

TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC!

You know what to do!


	4. Chapter 4

She was seeing him everywhere, at work, at the grocery store, at her lunch restaurant, and she didn't know why, he didn't seem to genuinely know that she came to these places and yet there he was. As of right now he was sitting across from his brother, drinking from a light blue mug in her café, he looked damn cozy too, his legs extended, in a slouched position over a newspaper, he didn't even seem to notice her. She wasn't sure what irritated her more, the fact that he was there or the fact that he wasn't looking at her.

"He is not the center of my life, I can let him go." She said to herself, trying to vanquish the feelings that welled up inside of her. "He isn't the center of my life."

She repeated it like a mantra in her head, praying that it would be true because more than anything she didn't want to think about the fact that her husband was right there.

"Um…. Excuse me?" a voice said in front of her.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry." She said, looking at the customer in front of her. "Betty, how are you?" she said, recognizing the plump face and bright, merry blue eyes.

"Why, I'm just fine. And how are you, dear?"

"I'm fine, loving the paint job your husband did for me."

"Oh, it's nothing, although that gold color looks beautiful, it's bringing quite a brisk business, although with your cooking who needs bright colors?"

Althea laughed. "I try my best. So your usual?"

"Yes, please." She said enthusiastically.

Althea smiled at the older woman with a genuine smile and wrote it on a tab sheet, with a few button presses on the old-fashioned cash register she wrote down the cost and a number then handed the paper back.

"It should be ready in twenty minutes."

"Well worth the wait."

Betty walked away from the counter with the ticket in her hand and sat down at the booth behind Sam and Dean's, the color left her face, Betty's booth was her station which meant that she would be coming close to Dean. Taking a deep breathe she closed her eyes and turned to the kitchen, leaving one of the younger employees at the counter, it seemed that the kitchen was the only place that she could relax and just be herself, especially in these times. Everything seemed to melt away when the smells of freshly baked bread and warm pies entered her senses, it was just her and the ingredients already forming recipes in her head. In the freezer was the Sweet Potato Pie for Betty made last night before she had left the store, she pulled it out and pushed it into the already hot oven and started to make the Café Macchiato (coffee). Ten minutes later she was pouring steamed milk into the frothy coffee confection and pulling the delicious pie out of the oven, the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon filled the air, she paused for a moment with the pie near to her face.

Althea's eyes closed in pleasure, a sense of accomplishment and anxiety overcame her, what if the customer didn't like it? What if they didn't enjoy it the same way she did? What if…. She pushed the thoughts away, they only covered the real problem, she wasn't feeling upset over the pie but over the man. It wasn't even his pie for Christ's sake! Mechanically she began to decorate the slice of pie she had cut, swirling chocolate sauce over the top in a lattice pattern and around the plate, then very carefully she placed the plate and the cup of hot coffee on a tray and whisked it out the door of the kitchen. Reading in her booth Betty looked relaxed and calm, her face a mask of contentment while Althea herself was breaking up.

"You're being ridiculous." She said to herself.

Carefully she brought the tray to Betty and placed the plate a long with the coffee in front of Betty, her back resolutely to Dean and his brother, Betty looked up gratefully and nodded politely. Ignoring the flutter of her heart she walked away, almost back to the counter when she heard someone calling her, she froze.

"Althea!" It was Dean. "Althea come here!"

She wanted to walk forward, wanted to ignore him and just let it go but he wouldn't let her, he kept calling her name until she thought she might just explode, walk over and ring his neck.

"What?" she practically growled at him.

"We're ready to order."

"Sorry, _Dean, _but this isn't my station, you'll have to wait until Tara is done with the rest of our customers."

"Why would I wait when you're right here, _wife._"

Althea gritted her teeth, she knew he was doing it to piss her off, knew that he was purposely baiting her to get a rise, but she wasn't going to show how mad she was, instead she was going to get revenge.

"What would you like then?" she said in a sugary sweet voice.

"Pie." He said with an unnerving smile.

"What kind?"

"Pecan."

"And you?" she looked to his brother with a genuine smile.

He looked between the two with a frown. "Um…. just coffee." He said with a hesitant smile.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Dean knew he was going to die, he could feel it with every painful beat of his heart, in every painful throb of the wound

I know it's kind of short but it's about the past so no complaining! Love you!

Dean knew he was going to die, he could feel it with every painful beat of his heart, in every painful throb of the wound in his right shoulder, and in every breath he dragged into his burning lungs. He knew he would die here, in this meadow surrounded by massive oaks that towered all around him, he would die here in a puddle of his own crimson colored blood and no one would care. Regret was tangible in the spring scented air, it filled his mind with painful images of his errant father who had left him here, his brother who had walked away from Dean when he had needed Sam the most, the mother he barely knew and the faceless family he would never have. Flashes of memory flickered behind his eyes like a candle in the darkness, they blinded him with faces, places and eyes…. Cold yellow eyes that haunted his dreams. Laughing yellow eyes that seemed to tell him what he already knew 'You lost, it's over'.

So staring at a black sky that shimmered with pale stars he couldn't help but realize all the things he wanted, the things he needed and the things he would now never have. He couldn't help but hate his father who had trained him to kill the things that went bump in the night, to slay dragons that were never his own, and to remember constantly that things were never as they seem. He hated the brother who had left him to find a life for himself, self desires Dean knew were better left unsaid, he hated the demon who had killed his mother and all those defenseless mothers. But mostly the hate he was feeling was for himself, because he had fallen so quickly into the life his father had chosen, heeling to the needs of his family before himself, forgetting himself.

So who was he? Dean Winchester? Or someone new? Did the real Dean Winchester, the carefree child from all those years ago, did he die along with the life that John had built? Who was this person who lie dying in an abandoned field?

'Just like your father.' A voice taunted. 'You don't really care about all those people, you just want to kill. But who are you when you realize that you're the monster you've been fighting for so long?'

Monster. That's how he felt he realized, like a monster. "No." he denied.

'Yes, a monster.'

_No. _Dean thought. _I'm a person, I've got feelings and needs. I want a family of my own, I want my brother, I want to be loved and be in love. I want a son. I want to be normal._

'What's normal? What about all those demons? What about all those people? You can never be normal, Dean, never.'

Pain burned in his chest, spreading through his body making him numb. _What do I do? _Questions filled his head and pounded a harsh tattoo against his skull but no answers came, only denials and excuses that plagued and stained his precious memories. Too wrapped up in his own grief he barely noticed the sound of tires crunching over gravel when a car pulled into the field. Darkness was beginning to fringe the edges of his vision making it difficult to keep his eyes open, a horrid howl reserved for the most painful of situations tore from his throat as darkness clouded his vision and stole what consciousness he had left.

"Hello?" came the sound of a woman's voice. "Is someone out there?"

Dean remained silent, his face peaceful as his eyes slid shut and his breath grew shallow, his heart slowing nearly to a halt.

"Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed.

Never before had Althea seen a dead body but she was damn sure that this man lying so still and quiet on the ground was dead or close to it, she couldn't tell if he was breathing, the dark was so thick and dense. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she watched him. _Do something! _A voice cried in her head but what was she to do? Carefully she walked around to the other side of his body and with two fingers pressed to the low part of his throat where his pulse was, she could just barely discern the feeling of his heart pumping vital blood through his system, it was steady but fading slowly which meant she had to work fast. Tearing off her outer jacket she had put on to ward off the chill, she pressed it to a wound that streamed blood from his chest, it soaked the jacket almost instantly with crimson.

Fear streaked through her. _Too much blood! _It stained her hands, the scent curling around her, stifling and thick making her almost sick. _What do I do? What am I going to do?_

"C'mon." she whispered. "Please, just let him live."

Reaching into her faded, bleached Levi's she pulled out her cell-phone, almost crying with joy when she saw that there was one bar of service blinking in the corner.

"Thank god." She cried.

She punched in 911 and waited, hearing it ring.

"911, what is your emergency?" a woman dispatcher came on the line.

"Gunshot wound! Or Knife wound! Right shoulder of man. Help!"

"Ma'am? You need to tell us where you are."

"I turned onto Meadow Street a little while ago, I'm in clearing of some sort, and there's a black Chevy sitting in front of the entrance."

"Are you close to the car?"

"No, not really."

"Can you move the man somewhere?"

"I don't think so, the wound…. It's gushing blood…. I tried to stem the bleeding but it soaked through."

"Is there a pulse?"

"I checked, and yes there is a pulse."

"I sent an ambulance and a police dispatch to your location, hold on ma'am."

The hot taste of adrenaline was in her mouth, it tasted of iron and silver, like blood and sweat mixed in her mouth, sweat rolled off her brow, down her back and rolled in the valley between her breasts. Who was this man?


End file.
